Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:
- That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
- We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
- On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.
By learning about Princeton (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.
As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Princeton. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.
Neighboring Counties ...
When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.
For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.
So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived: their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the west contained birth and death records; the county to the south contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.
If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.
Princeton is located in Colusa County.
To see how the shape of California's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Colusa County: Butte, Glenn, Lake, Sutter & Yolo.
Below are the counties that are near Princeton. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Princeton:
- Colusa County (The home county of Princeton)
- The following are listed by their distance from Princeton, with the one closest to Princeton listed first.
- Colusa Rancheria
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Colusa
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Maxwell
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Williams
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Sites
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Devils Elbow
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Genevra
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Genevra. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Genevra
- Genevra is located in Colusa County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Genevra
- From Princeton to Genevra
- Grimes
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Arbuckle
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Leesville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Lodoga
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- College City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Stonyford
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Butte County
- The following are listed by their distance from Princeton, with the one closest to Princeton listed first.
- Bigg's
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Richvale
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Gridley
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Nelson
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- East Biggs
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Peachton
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Dayton
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Lorraine ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lorraine. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lorraine
- Lorraine is located in Butte County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Lorraine
- From Princeton to Lorraine
- Oroville Junction
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Durham
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Robinsons Corner
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Thermalito
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Chico
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Glenn County
- The following are listed by their distance from Princeton, with the one closest to Princeton listed first.
- Afton
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Butte City
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Glenn
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Willows
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Artois
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Hamilton City
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Orland
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Capay
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Capay have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capay
- Capay is located in Glenn County
- Santa Cruz County
- Live Oak
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Sutter County
- The following are listed by their distance from Princeton, with the one closest to Princeton listed first.
- Pennington
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Meridian
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Tarke
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Live Oak
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Sutter
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Tierra Buena
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tierra Buena have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tierra Buena
- Tierra Buena is located in Sutter County
- Yuba City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- South Yuba City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Yuba City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Yuba City
- South Yuba City is located in Sutter County
- Bogue
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Yuba County
- The following are listed by their distance from Princeton, with the one closest to Princeton listed first.
- Binney Junction
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Marysville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Iowa City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Iowa City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iowa City
- Iowa City is located in Yuba County
- Alicia
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Princeton, see our County-by-County Page for Princeton.
Cemeteries Near Princeton ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Princeton.
This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.
If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Princeton covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Princeton, with the one closest to Princeton listed first.
- Princeton Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Marvin Chapel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Butte City Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Mound Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Catholic Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Catholic Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Catholic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Willows Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Maxwell Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Maxwell Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Maxwell Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- North Butte Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the North Butte Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the North Butte Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Martin Family Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Pugh Cemetery
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pugh Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pugh Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Nelson Cemetery
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Gridley - Biggs Cemetery
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Continue List (40 more) ...
- Germantown Cemetery
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Dayton Cemetery
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Monroeville Pioneer Cemetery
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
Nearby Communities in 1895 ...
We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<6>
While we didn't find Princeton in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Princeton.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Princeton, with the one closest to Princeton listed first.
- Afton
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Butte City
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Norman
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Norman have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norman
- Norman is located in Glenn County
- Jacinto
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jacinto have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacinto
- Jacinto is located in Glenn County
- Maxwell
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Colusa
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Pennington
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Willows
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Bigg's
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Gridley
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Nelson
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Sites
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Lurline ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lurline have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lurline
- Lurline is located in Colusa County
- Williams
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Meridian
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Princeton. See our List of 1890's Communities around Princeton.
Newspapers Published in Princeton ...
An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).
To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.
Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 53 newspapers that have been published in the area around Princeton.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Princeton, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Princeton.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.
To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Princeton:
- Websites specific to California
- Pages specific to Colusa County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Butte County
- Glenn County
- Santa Cruz County
- Sutter County
- Yuba County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for California
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Princeton. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Colusa County: www.colusacountyclerk.com/
The official website for State of California: https://www.ca.gov/
Footnotes ...
<1> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
<2> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
<3> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
<4> | The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com. |
<5> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Princeton) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Princeton. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.4048, Longitude: -122.0095 |
<6> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Princeton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |